


Carol's Initiative

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Series: If I stay [21]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Carol meets some of the Avengers, First Meetings, Gen, More Flybis & Ramvers family tomorrow, Pre-Avengers Movie, The Carol Initiative is on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 11:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18314672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: How Carol met some of the future Avengers before the team was formed.





	Carol's Initiative

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! No, this isn't an April Fools joke, I promised some Avengers by April, and I intend to keep that promise! I'm just about in the clear with Carol's role in every MCU movies she could have appeared in, except Civil War (but I'll find something, probably) No flybis or Ramvers family today, but don't worry, both Maria and Monica will be heavily included tomorrow, for the first part of the Avengers movie! Yes, we are starting big!  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoy!

Carol had received a message from Fury, telling her to prepare a Quinjet for immediate departure on a secret extraction mission. Which could only mean trouble for every party involved. So here she was, making sure her good old Quinjet was prepped and ready to go. She only hoped it would make it back in one piece. It wasn't that she had a track record of crashing her planes, it was that she was always sent on the missions which had the highest chances of destroying her planes.

  
"Captain Danvers?"

  
She pulled herself out of the piloting chair, to face the person who had just called her. Two people had just walked through the open hatch of the Quinjet. One was a man with short brown hair, wearing the dark blue SHIELD uniform, with additional protections on the chest and forearm. He had a quiver on his back and a bow in his hand. The other was a redhead wearing a questionable bodysuit, with a red hourglass symbol on her belt.

  
"You're the extraction team?" she asked in confusion.

  
"I'm agent Barton, this is agent Romanoff. Fury said you'll be ready to go."

  
"I am. Unless it's time travel, in which case you'll have to come back in a few years."

  
Neither of them laughed and Carol felt compelled to prolong her joke.

  
"Cause the bow is just not a... standard weapon..."

  
She cleared her throat and turned back into her piloting chair.

  
"Where are we going? Fury didn't give me any debrief."

  
She engaged the motors and closed the hatch, then put on her helmet.

  
"Budapest, and that's all you need to know," the red-head said.

  
Carol rolled her eyes. Those special agents who thought they were above a simple pilot.

  
"Budapest it is."

  
She disengaged the brakes and drove out of the hangar.

* * *

  
  
The flight was mostly silent, and Carol didn't try to make small talks with the agents. She had humiliated herself enough already. She could ask the details of the mission to Fury later.

  
They arrived in Budapest in the dead of night. Then, she heard Romanoff's voice in her helmet:

  
"Stay in stationary flight above the city and await further instructions for extraction."

  
"I suppose you'll need the hatch," she replied.

  
"Affirmative."

  
Carol opened the hatch and watched from her seat as both agents jumped out of the plane, parachutes ready to be deployed on their backs. She pressed a button, engaging the stationary flight, and closed off the hatch with a sigh. What a boring mission. Here she thought Fury had called on her because she finally going to have a bit of fun. Instead, she was going to have to wait for a few hours, hidden in the clouds, while those two weirdos got all the fun. She stood up and stretched, then went to pick up the book she'd stashed under her seat. She sat back down, feet hanging over the armrest, and started reading again.

  
Just under two hours later, Carol got a call from HQ. She placed her bookmark at the right page and picked up.

  
"Avenger."

  
"Carol, Fury speaking. How's the extraction going?"

  
"Good, I assume. Legolas and Gimli jumped off two hours ago, I haven't heard from them since."

  
"Carol, be serious. This is a very important mission."

  
"How would I know? You didn't brief me before sending me off to Hungary."

  
"Hawkeye and Black Widow are here to get a very vital piece of information. If absolutely anything happens, I need you to intervene. No discussion."

  
Carol snored.

  
"Hawkeye and Black Widow? That's their call sign? Subtle."

  
"Got something to say, Captain Marvel?"

  
"I think you and I both know by now that I'm not subtle."

  
Before Fury could add anything, Carol heard Barton's voice shouting in her helmet, amidst explosions and gunshots:

  
"Avenger, this is Hawkeye! We need immediate extraction! I repeat! Immediate extraction!"

  
Carol stood up in a flash.

  
"Sorry, Fury, but duty calls!"

  
She threw her helmet off her head and opened the hatch before running out of the Quinjet. She jumped down, and her SHIELD uniform was torn apart by her old red and blue StarForce uniform, as it spread over her. Her helmet turned on, covering most of her face, and she flew off.

  
She easily located the two agents, hidden behind a turn-over car in the middle of the street, while a group of people was firing at them from the other side of the street. She didn't hesitate. She landed right in the middle of the fight, dust rising around her as her feet touched the ground. There was a moment of confusion where everyone stopped shooting. They were probably wondering why there was a glowing lady in their way. Carol took that small moment as her chance. She blasted the nearby cars behind which the enemies were hiding, then turned around and walked up quickly to the duo of agents.

  
"Do I even want to know how you to got a whole gang of Hungarians shooting at you?"

  
Barton was still mostly shocked and confused. Romanoff was a lot quicker to recover.

  
"Probably not."

  
Carol picked up Hawkeye by his quiver, then wrapped her other arm around Black Widow.

  
"I would advice you keep your eyes and mouth shut."

  
Then, she flew off. They quickly disappeared through the clouds, leaving only a ray of light behind them. Carol brought them back to the ship. She dropped them off on the edge of the hatch then pushed herself inside. Her helmet fell off, freeing her hair, and she returned to her piloting seat.

  
"I suggest we get out of here."

  
"Seconded," Hawkeye replied, heaving as if he had trouble breathing.

  
She closed off the hatch and turned the craft around. Then, they flew off into the night sky. Carol finally put her piloting helmet back on and called HQ.

  
"HQ this is Avenger. We're going home."

  
"Copy that. Awaiting your arrival, Avenger."

  
Carol looked back at the agents, who were staring at her confusedly.

  
"What are you?" Black Widow asked.

  
"It's a long story. You got the info Fury wanted?"

  
"Yeah."

  
"Then at least I didn't jump off for nothing."

  
Barton sat down on the ground, his back against the plane's hull. Black Widow came to sit on the co-pilot seat.

  
"I guess now we know why Fury said you were his Ace."

  
Carol smiled.

  
"Aww, he called me his Ace?"

  
Now that was some teasing material for later.

  
"Usually he calls me his Pain in the Ass," she added, making Romanoff chuckle.

  
"Yeah, I can see why," Barton replied.

* * *

  
  
The first time Carol saw Tony Stark, he had no idea who she was. Fury had asked her to come to Los Angeles for Stark's evaluation as part of the Avengers Initiative. Since she was so far the only member of said Initiative, he wanted her opinion on the man. She walked in with Fury and stayed behind him as he came to sit in front of Tony.

  
"I don't think I want you looking at that," he said, placing his hand on the Avengers folder to prevent Stark from reading through it. "I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore."

  
Tony looked up at them as Fury sat down and put the folder away, picking up the other folder.

  
"Now this, on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you. Read it."

  
Fury placed the folder in front of Tony, and he picked it up. However, instead of reading through it, he continued to stare at Carol.

  
"Who is that? My new babysitter? You're going to have someone else tail me?"

  
The corner of Carol's lips quirked imperceptibly.

  
"You don't want me babysitting you."

  
"Agent Danvers is none of your business," Fury explained.

  
"Alright, fine. Have your blonde secretary stand there for no reason."

  
Tony opened the file and read through it out loud.

  
"'Personality overview. Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior.' In my defense, that was last week."

  
Carol tried to keep her composure, but she could already tell this man was going to be a problem.

  
"'Prone to self-destructive tendencies.' I was dying, I mean, please. Aren't we all? 'Textbook narcissism?' Agreed."

  
Even without the rapport, Carol could have told that this man had a serious ego problem.

  
"Okay, here it is. 'Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron man: Yes."

  
He closed off the folder and threw it on the table with a smile.

  
"I gotta think about it."

  
Carol crossed her arms. He really did have a punchable face like few she'd seen before.

  
"Read on," Fury said.

  
Tony sighed and picked up the file once again. Opening it up, he continued down the page:

  
"Tony Stark: Not... not recommended?' That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me but not approve me? I got a new ticker. I'm trying to go right by Pepper. I'm in a stable-ish relationship."

  
Fury stood up to seat closer to Tony, on the corner of the table. Carol didn't move and continued to stare at him. She was holding back a smirk.

  
"Which leads us to believe at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant," Fury explained.

  
Tony looked like he'd just been told the stupidest joke in the universe.

  
"Can you believe this guy?" she said to Carol.

  
Still, Carol didn't react. Tony stood up and held out his hand, which Fury shook politely.

  
"You can't afford me."

  
Carol snored in disbelief, and Tony turned back to her:

  
"I suppose I'll see you next time I need to hire a new secretary."

  
Carol rolled her eyes. Tony walked away, but before he had even taken two steps toward the door, he turned around and looked back at Fury:

  
"But then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor. Rhodey and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter."

  
"I'll see what I can do," Fury replied.

  
Tony left the room with one last wave over the shoulder. Once the door was closed, Fury turned to Carol.

  
"So, what do you think?"

  
"Never call him. Natasha was very right about him. If you want to build a good team for this Initiative, never call on this guy."

  
"Unfortunately, there might come a time when we will need this guy."

  
"Yeah, the day his ego blows up and destroys half of the planet. I mean, look at him! They're giving him a medal for a mess he helped cause in the first place."

  
"Oh, are you jealous? Do you want a metal too?"

  
Carol huffed.

  
"I don't need a metal. But if this is my Initiative, then I say no to Tony Stark."

  
Fury stood up from the table with a chuckle.

  
"It's not your Initiative."

  
"Should have thought of that before naming it after me!"

* * *

  
  
Carol was in Fury's office, hunched over his desk as the two of them watched the camera feed in Steve Roger's recovery room.

  
"I can't believe it's really him," Carol said.

  
"All that's left to know now is whether he's the man every tales makes him up to be."

  
They watched as Steve stood up slowly, talking with the woman who was pretending to be a 1940s military officer.

  
"And if he's not?"

  
"Then I guess our number of Avengers Initiative members drops back to one."

  
"Do you really need more when that one is me?" Carol joked back.

  
Fury rolled his eye. However, their attention was focused back on the screen when the sound of two men flying through the fake wall of the room echoed through the computer screen. Fury quickly picked up his talkie-walkie.

  
"Do not let him get out of the facility!"

  
Steve soon disappeared from the screen, and Carol walked quickly to the office's balcony door. She opened it and leaned over the railing. There, she saw Steve running out of the building and taking a sharp left.

  
"He's out!" she called out.

  
"Keep an eye on him from above, I'll send a dispatch team to get him. Try to cut him off near Time Square, if you can."

  
Fury was rushing out of his office, and Carol jumped off the balcony without hesitation. She flew above Steve, keeping her eyes on him as much as possible. One thing was sure, he was fast. Barely awaken from seventy years of sleep, but already sprinting faster than any Olympic runner. Carol zigzagged through a few buildings, then finally saw an opening.

  
Steve had paused right on Time Square, looking around him with confusion and fear. She remembered feeling exactly the same in that Los Angeles subway not two decades ago. She landed right in front of him and held out her hand as a sign of non-aggression.

  
"Hey, hey! Captain! Captain! It's okay!"

  
Steve lowered his fist – which was understandable, his fight or flight reflexes must have kicked in times one hundred when a glowing woman had flown up to him.

  
"What's going on?!" he asked.

  
"Just breathe, okay? Relax. We're going to explain everything to you, I promise, but right now, you need to calm down."

  
He looked so confused, like a lost puppy. Carol almost felt the urge to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay. He was out of time like she had been, but she had resumed her life relatively normally after being gone for six years. He had been frozen for seventy years. There was no coming back from that.

  
Big black cars came to park around them, and soon enough Fury climbed out of one of them.

  
"At ease, soldier."

  
Steve turned to Fury, and Carol let out a sighed of relief.

  
"Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there... we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

  
Once again Steve sounded so confused:

  
"Break what?" he asked.

  
"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years."

  
Steve looked around him. At the buildings and all the screens on them. At the cars. Carol could see the realization slowly sinking in, and his look of confusion was quickly replaced by that of pure sadness, one which instantly broke her heart.

  
"Are you gonna be okay?" Fury asked.

  
"Yeah. Yeah, I just... I had a date..."


End file.
